


A Confession to Die For

by starryfrost



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, Gen, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 22:56:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3913795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryfrost/pseuds/starryfrost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Person B finally, for the very first time, after an obscenely–excruciatingly–long wait, takes Person A’s hand tightly, kisses them sweetly, and confesses their love to the lifeless body of Person A.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Confession to Die For

Cloud couldn’t believe what was happening. His mind, still sluggish from the effects of the mako overdose, struggled to process what really was happening amidst the spreading numbness of disbelief –Anguish, heartbreak, denial, he would later remember the feelings as- . Just yesterday, Zack had promised they would be okay; they would make it out alive. _–“Hang in there Spike, we’re nearly there and we’ll be okay. I promise everything’s going to be okay.” The same words were spoken every day they had been on the run; always a promise that everything would turn out okay._

_-Arms squeezed him against a broader chest and he could feel Zack press his face to the top of his head. “We’ll be okay Cloud.” The voice was hushed, broken and clinging onto a frail strand of hope. “You’re strong, so just hang on. I’ll get us out somehow.” The arms tightened momentarily before voices called to separate the subjects and lead them to their tanks. Harsh hands grabbed his arms and roughly dragged him, towing him despite his tripping feet as he desperately glanced to Zack, meeting his eyes a last time. ‘I promise’ Zack had mouthed, before he lost sight of him, tank walls enclosing him and door sealing. And Cloud believed him. There was no reason to not trust Zack._

He didn’t disappoint. After an undeterminable amount of time, they were free. Not in the best physical state, but free nonetheless. Free, only to start running for their lives. This couldn’t have been the okay that Zack had desperately promised him.-

Nothing was okay now. Not since Nibelheim. Not since Zack had left him slouched on against a rock with his hand outstretched, feebly hoping for his return. Not with the resounding gunshots he could hear –so many, not even a SOLDIER could hope to survive-. Not with the cries of pain from his friend as bullet after bullet entered his body. Not now with the steady rain, the countless bullets littering Zack’s body, the blood running from his face and body to pool with the rain, the rattling, agonized breaths _–so subdued for someone who was once so lively-_.

“Zack..” Cloud rasped, voice hoarse from disuse. Shivers wracked his body, whether from the wet, the cold, the exertion of dragging himself over, or from shock, he didn’t know. All he could focus on was Zack’s bleeding face, pale, dying –

“For the… both of us…” Zack began, bringing Cloud’s attention to his words and not how the blood was running down his friend’s face even as the rain attempted to wash it away, all in vain.

“Both… of us?” Cloud weakly queried. _How was this happening?_ For a mind so sluggish his thoughts were whirling faster than he could catch any individual one. They were all variants of _How could this happen, why did it happen, if only I had woken up sooner then we could’ve fled faster_ and _this never would’ve happened, he promised we would be okay, this is not okay, he’s dying_.

“That’s right… you’re gonna…” he paused for breath as pain carved his features into a pained grimace. He lifted his arm slowly, putting his hand on the back of Cloud’s head and brought it slowly down to his chest. “Live.” Cloud shivered again as his face met Zack’s bloodied chest, but he couldn’t withdraw, nor did he want to. He stayed there, mostly for Zack, but for himself as well. And was it just his imagination or did Zack’s hand just feebly tussle his hair?  


_-An echo of the normally rough and excited tussles, noogies and fluffing of his hair as Zack excitedly exclaimed “Cloud!” or some nickname and proceeded to chatter about whatever had excited him that time. He grew used to Zack’s attacks on his hair, struggling to get away less with time and even retaliating. It usually led to a bit of rough housing as Zack held Cloud away by locking his arm, and Cloud doing his best to duck around Zack’s arm, yet both were laughing by the end. -_

“You’ll be… my living legacy.” More pauses to breathe punctuated his declaration and his hand fell away, back down to his side. Cloud sat back slowly, staring at Zack’s face as if unable to do anything else. Not that he could do anything else. Shock and disbelief put him on something resembling autopilot, a dissociation caused by the crumbling of Cloud’s world right before him.

_-“Oh man I can’t wait until you get into SOLDIER Cloud. Just think of all that we’ll be able to do together; missions, training, and hey! I could even be your mentor!” Zack grinned, jostling Cloud with the arm around his shoulder. Cloud looked up, and couldn’t help but reciprocate the grin he found. Zack’s optimism was just that infectious and his belief in Cloud warmed him to the core.-_

“My honor… my dreams… they’re yours now.” And there was the hilt of the buster sword, Zack shakily offering it to him. Cloud took it, staring down at the sword before looking back to Zack. To the pained smile gracing his face. To the hand that reached for his. He fought his initial urge to flinch away and slipped his hand into Zack’s, entwining their fingers. His attention returned to the wide smile on Zack’s face. 

_–not even close to his normal beams and grins, but was anything even normal anymore? Would anything be normal ever again?-_  


Cloud tensed, opened his mouth, but closed it as no words came out. He could only clutch at the sword and Zack’s slipping hand with a newfound desperation. Zack was dying. Truly dying now. He could see his life fading, evident from the slipping smile, the dulling shine, the abating blood flow.  


“Zack, I…” he choked out, swallowing hard again, “I love you. I love you so much.” A sob, then he bowed his head, as if to hide the tears that were beginning to stream down his face. Not that there was anyone living to see them. “Please. Don’t…don’t leave me.” he pleaded, clutching tighter at Zack’s limp hand. Tears ran down his face, mingling with the blood on his face and the easing rain.  


_–He could remember a time when Zack had grabbed his hand this tight and towed his struggling self to meet Angeal. “Oh lighten up Spiky! There’s nothing to be afraid of, Angeal’s like a giant teddy bear! Trust me!” Zack was right again; there wasn’t anything to fear from Angeal.-_  


He tried blinking to get rid of the tears, but they wouldn’t stop. Not even tipping his head back to look at the lightening sky helped. _Too late,_ a voice whispered in the back of Cloud’s mind- _you were too late. He’s gone_. A sob escaped him, followed by a wail of anguish. His hands refused to let go of either the sword or Zack’s hand, and he clutched both to his chest as he bent over Zack’s body, gasping and sobbing as the gravity of the situation sunk in with a terrible finality. Around the sobs, countless ‘why’s, ‘what did I do to deserve this’, ‘what did he do to deserve this’, ‘why did this have to happen to me’, ‘why Zack’, and a myriad of other unanswerable questions fell from his lips as freely as the tears fell.  


Slowly, the hand that had so desperately clung to Zack’s loosened and allowed it to fall down to his chest. A tired exhale escaped Cloud as he simply leaned over Zack, drained and exhausted in more ways than one. His eyes ached, and his head pounded, yet he could not focus on anything concrete, worn-out as he was.  


With a few blinks and a small shake of his head, he forced his eyes to focus and his body to act. His hand drew upwards towards Zack’s face, cupping it, and he shuffled over slightly so he could lean his forehead against Zack’s. A fleeting brush of his lips against Zack’s in farewell, and Cloud stood up, leaning on the buster sword heavily to bring himself to his unsteady feet. He locked himself against the swaying of his body, and cast one last look at Zack.  


“I’ll… be your living legacy. I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Many thanks to my wonderful Juju (tumblr: waifujuju) for proofreading and overall inspiring me to complete this!
> 
> I can be found on tumblr as starryfrost


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